Candidates square off at forum

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Mayor Dave Jett and challenger Joe McNeal squared off in a candidate forum last Thursday sponsored by the Elmore County Democratic Party.

Mayoral candidate Carol Dalton was unable to attend because her diabetes had flared up and she was away attending diabetes management classes.

Also appearing at the forum were incumbent councilmen Mark Russell and Tom Rist, who are running unopposed for four-year terms in the Nov. 4 city election.

Each of the candidates present at the forum, held in the community room of the new police station, opened with brief remarks about why they should be elected. Approximately 25 people attended the forum, over half city employees or relatives of the candidates.

Moderator Maury Townsend read a brief statement from Dalton, who noted her extensive involvement in community activities. Her statement also addressed the issue of a lack of experience in local government by pointing out that she had served as an advisor and counselor for 21 Girls State sessions, "so I know the process," but, she added, she was not a politician.

Her statement voiced her opposition to any effort to bring back up the E911 street readdressing issue, saying "I see no benefits in confusing all the citizens...The EMS people should spend time familiarizing themselves with maps."

She also expressed her strong support for the Western Elmore County Recreation District plans for a community center, but said she did not believe the city should contribute funding to the project.

After Rist and Russell had made their opening statements, Jett preceded McNeal in making his statement.

Mayor Dave Jett told the crowd that he was guided by three basic principles -- stewardship, relationship and hardship.

"I believe in stewardship of the public trust. I believe that the city must cultivate and develop relationships with all aspects of the community." And hardship, he said, meant that "elected officials must make hard decisions."

Jett said that criticisms that he was not a "people person" were in part correct, "if that means slapping people on the back and telling them what they want to hear. And sometimes, I'm brutally honest."

He also said that criticism that he wasn't involved in community activities weren't true, citing as an example the fact that he was the first chairman of the city's economic development effort.

"Being mayor isn't about smoozing or bussing babies," he said. "The mayor is the chief executive officer of an $11 million a year business, and I approach being mayor much like I would a business. I have not patience for laziness (or) incompetence."

He objected to the comments made by a writer in the letters to the editor section of the newspaper who questioned that his only accomplishment seemed to be installing a new computer system for the city. "In 2004, the federal government is requiring that all cities over 10,000 have an asset management and computerized financial management system in place. That was a huge project" transferring all paper records to the computer, he said.

He also said that when he came into office "several projects were stuck on dead center, such as the underpass. "I discovered the roadblock was the Union Pacific Railroad not signing the memorandum of understanding. I called Gov. Kempthorne to ask for his help, and within a month it was signed and the contracts were being let."

He also stressed what he said was the development of a strong team within city government. "Everyone who works for the city, we pull together as a team. We argue, we debate, but we reach consensus, all agreeing to move forward.

"There have been a number of accomplishments of the city" in the last four years, "not due to me, but everyone who works on them."

He concluded by saying, "you don't have to guess this election. You know if I tell you something's going to happen it will. If I tell you something can't happen, then you'd better find a different way" to approach the issue.

McNeal told the audience that "this election is not going to be between Mayor Jett and myself, it is about ideas and leadership."

Pointing to the audience he struck a populist theme by saying, "you are the people who will make the difference."

McNeal noted that he had been involved in public service in the community for 18 years. "I was a city councilman for eight years. I enjoyed it, and we accomplished a lot." He said he stepped down as a councilman to run for mayor against a popular incumbent (former Mayor Don Etter), "because I felt it was time to move on to the next level.

"But I believe (the mayor's job) should be a service, not a job.

"I think Dave loves this city just as much as I do, but it gets back to new ideas and ways of accomplishing things to move this city forward."

He said he would not discuss the specifics of his ideas at the forum, "because they are quite lengthy," but urged citizens to go to his interactive web site, www.mcnealformayor.com, to see those details, and to offer suggestions for the future of the city. "Believe me, I will get back to you. I will respond."

He said that two-way communication between the mayor's office and the citizens was vital to the future of the city. "I believe that citizens participating in city government will make for better government.

The mayor's job, he said, "is about how you handle and express ideas, and how you let citizens participate. We're coming up on a critical time for our city," and citizen participation will be vital to helping the city move forward, he said.

"When you have a council and mayor that has your best interests at heart, that listens to your views, the city will move forward.

"If you think we can go up, go further, then vote McNeal for mayor."

Both Russell and Rist listed their strengths, both saying they were good listeners. Russell said his technical expertise, in financial management and computer systems had been valuable to the city, and told those in the audience, "we always solicit your opinions, but if you bring us a problem, I encourage you to bring us a solution as well."

Rist said that he had enjoyed being a councilman for eight years and was proud of the city's accomplishments during Jett's term, saying the council and mayor were a "good team."

Both Rist and Russell, during the question and answer period that followed the opening statements, praised Jett, so much so that at one point, McNeal, looking down the table at the incumbents, said, "I feel like I'm the odd man out here," to which Russell tartly replied, "you got that right."

Betty Ashcraft asked the two councilmen what their most innovative accomplishment had been during their terms in office.

Russell said his was being the lead councilman on upgrading the city's financial package.

Rist said he felt his work on creating the new police station by the use of certificates of participation was his greatest accomplishment.

Noting the controversy that surrounded the city/county effort to acquire a joint jail and law center for both the sheriff and police departments, he said "the council got fed up" with the delays by the county "and we moved forward. I think the county made a mistake in not going forward with us. They're probably going to try and do their part just below us here on the hill, with a bond issue, and that's already failed three times."

He also said that the toughest decision involved the need to increase the fee structure for the city. "We had to bite the bullet. There are times government can't make everyone happy, but we had to do the right thing and it was absolutely essential that we do something, and we did."

Dave Barnett rose to tell the four candidates that it was essential that American Legion Boulevard be cleaned up, because new businesses don't want to locate in an area that had trashy, boarded up buildings. "We need new business in here to get our tax base built," he said, without ever actually asking a question.

Jett thanked him for his advice and noted that the city had developed a nuisance ordinance "with teeth in it," during his term and had an ongoing "active campaign" to tear down eyesores, such as the recent demoliton of the Siesta Motel.

He also said the city had obtained a grant to redo American Legion, installing new curbs, gutters and lights. He also pointed out that the area had added 800 new jobs in the last few years and been able to avoid using tax incentives to bring new businesses to town, citing the new power plant and the new pharmacutical distribution facility on the hill as huge increases to the tax base.

He also praised the city's economic development effort, saying, "we began that 15 years ago, whereas most cities in Idaho started only two years ago, and we're starting to see the dividends from that."

Mountain Home, he said, "is moving forward whether you like it or not. Don't vote for me if you want Mountain Home to stay as it is."

But McNeal said those actions were not extraordinary. "The city is doing what city officials are supposed to do." It was necessary, he said, to go above and beyond that.

John Hiler questioned Jett if all of the new power plant's assessed valuation would go on the city's tax roles. Jett said he had worked with the legislature to rewrite the tax law so that while the plant would be centrally assessed (meaning it would be assessed by the state as a part of the total Idaho Power properties), the tax monies raised would be retained by the local taxing entities instead of redistributed among all the counties where Idaho Power has property. "Elmore County, the city and the school will be the beneficiaries," he said.

Ashcraft also asked the mayoral candidates if they would support providing assistance to the Western Elmore County Recreation District.

"I supported the district," Jett said, noting the city had paid for the studies that lead to its creation by the voters, but, he contended, "the effort has stalled. Their plan doesn't match reality," suggesting the district should scale back its plans and build its community center in phases. "I can wait for an indoor swimming pool," he said.

McNeal said the mayor's office should support the district and the mayor should be actively involved in helping promote the project.

Another member of the audience, who did not identify themselves, questioned if the economic development efforts "such as waste disposal and prisons" were the wrong kind of businesses to seek out. "Are we too desperate?" she asked, adding that economic development would be critical in the face of a new round of base closures scheduled to begin within 18 months.

McNeal said that diversifying the economy was critical if "Lord forbid, the base were to close.

"We have to go out and ask businesses to come here" rather than waiting for them to contact the city. "I was at a meeting with MK officials last week, and someone asked them why they had decided to locate their world corporate headquarters in a podunk little town like Boise, and the answer was, 'they asked us to come'."

Jett expressed his confidence in the city's "experienced economic development office" and noted that he had been involved in the base realignment and closure process since the beginning, first as the governor's military liaison and as mayor.

"We target businesses that fit our community," he said.

Hiler then asked about the city's plans to address the increasingly critical water problems in the area.

Russell noted that the city only consumes about 2 or 3 percent of the water used in the local aquifer, the rest being used primarily by agriculture, "so there's only so much we can do," and Rist pointed out that the city was constantly improving the current system to provide redundancy in the event the city lost two wells at the same time. "Water is a huge issue," he said, noting that the city was filing applications for additional water rights but that it would be several years before they learned if they would be approved.

McNeal said it was necessary to manage the city's water system, monitor it and continue to improve it.

Jett responded by taking a shot at the Etter administration, of which McNeal had been a part, by saying that the fee system had fallen behind and that in order to make sure the infrastructure stayed sound "my council and myself had had to make the tough decision" to raise the sewer and water fees. "A lot of community members thought water was free. It isn't," and he had had a major hand in obtaining the grants to help pay for the new $8 million sewer and water project.

The forum was taped by Camera 8 and will be shown in its entirety this Thursday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m.

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